


Red Letter

by madridistagoblue



Series: Seirin Week 2015 [4]
Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: F/M, Gen, Love Letters, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-17
Updated: 2015-07-17
Packaged: 2018-04-09 18:32:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,329
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4359752
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/madridistagoblue/pseuds/madridistagoblue
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There are no secrets on the Seirin High Basketball Club – especially when it comes to who’s dating whom. At least, this is what Kagami believes. Until one day, when Kuroko delivers a red envelope to Furihata.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Red Letter

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Day 4 of Seirin Week 2015 on Tumblr. The prompt for today was relationships.

There were essentially no secrets among the members of the Seirin High Basketball Club. It was part of the reason that the team had such chemistry on the court -- they trusted each other fully, in personal matters as much as basketball.

This was especially true when it came to the team's romantic relationships, though this may have been less by choice then by the fact that most of the dating occurred between members of the team. (Tsuchida and his girlfriend were the lone expectation.) Koganei and Mitobe had begun dating sometime before the Winter Cup final against Rakuzan -- the first time their teammates noticed them putting their arms around each other. According to Koga, Mitobe had been the one to suggest a relationship; a confession that surely, only he understood. There was a persistent rumor that Mitobe may have asked Koga out sometime during the middle of practice one day, completely unnoticed by the rest of the team. Whether this was true or not, Koganei would neither confirm nor deny.

Kagami had been the next to confess to a teammate, a week after the Winter Cup ended. He had noticed his bond with Kuroko growing stronger over the course of the season, but his mind was so consumed with basketball at the time that he had never stopped to consider what implications this may have had off the court. It was not until he saw Kuroko's face somewhere in the depths of his consciousness, and his fated shadow became the one to grant him passage to the second level of the zone, that some circuit in his mind was switched on and the extent of the emotions he felt towards Kuroko began to make sense.  He decided to confess one night while they were hanging out at his apartment, sitting on the couch together, talking, and watching reruns of NBA games. Kuroko was lying on the couch with his head in Kagami's lap when Kagami looked down at his partner's peaceful expression and knew this was the right moment to ask.

_"Hey, Kuroko…" he began, a blush appearing on his cheeks as he spoke._

_"Yes, Kagami-kun?" his shadow replied._

_"Would you ever consider…you know…" Kagami stumbled through what he wanted to say._

_"I know what?"_

_"Would you ever consider going on a date with me?" Kagami spat out and turned his face away from Kuroko, as though that could somehow hide the nervous expression on his face or the redness of his cheeks._

_"Of course, I would, Kagami-kun," Kuroko replied. Kagami turned his head back just in time to capture his partner's wide smile. "I was wondering when you would finally ask."_

Turns out, Kuroko had been aware of his true feelings well before Kagami. This in itself was not a huge surprise to Seirin's ace, who knew that Kuroko had a high emotional intelligence in spite of his deadpan voice and expressionless appearance. What did surprise (and annoy) Kagami, is that the entire team seemed to have been aware of his own feelings towards Kuroko before he was. He announced the news not to responses of "congratulations" or "we're happy for you," but to "finally!" and "about time, Bakagami!"

Fortunately for Kagami, he was not the only member of Seirin who was oblivious to such things. Every member of the team knew that Hyuuga had his eye on Riko, and his longing glances at the bench during breaks on the court were getting more obvious by the day. Even Riko knew of the captain's intention to confess to her, and in private she informed the rest of the team that she returned his feelings. However, the coach had no plans to confess her own crush, preferring to wait for Hyuuga to do it on his own terms. She had been waiting for a few months now, but she was confident that he'd work up his courage soon enough. If worse came to worse, he would fret over his confession until it was almost time for them to graduate, and Riko knew that, in this case, the immediacy of the issue would spur him to action. Hyuuga was always best in clutch time, after all.

With the exception of the fact that Hyuuga still did not realize that the coach returned his feelings, matters of the heart were common knowledge among the Seirin players. At least, this is what Kagami had always assumed.

That's why Kagami was shocked by the red envelop sitting on the bench in front of him.

Kuroko had carried the envelope into the locker room that morning and unceremoniously delivered it to Furihata. The brief occurrence may have gone unnoticed but for the fact that Furihata had torn it open immediately and, instead of getting changed for practice, had spent ten minutes on the bench reading the contents of whatever had been handed to him with a far-off look in his eyes and a blush creeping over his face. At first, Kagami assumed that he had missed some sort of news, and was preparing himself for another round of _Bakagami_ 's and _Basukebaka_ 's. But as his eyes darted around the locker room, he found the same confused expression on the faces of each of his teammates. All except Kuroko, of course, who either knew what was going on or was keeping up his usual emotionless façade.

In spite of the team's shared disbelief at what appeared to be Furihata receiving a love letter -- and given Furi's lack of shock or embarrassment, perhaps a love letter from someone he was already involved with? - - the players left the locker room one-by-one without pressing the matter further. All except Kagami, who felt compelled to know what was going on, and continued to watch the point guard out of the corner of his eye.

To make matters worse, Furihata had been in such a daze after reading the letter and slipping it back into the red envelop, that when he finally got changed for practice, he left it sitting out on the bench -- right next to where Kagami was standing.

Now Kagami was the only member of the team left in the locker room, alone with the torn red envelope. He looked down and examined it carefully for a moment. The envelope itself looked to be made of high-quality parchment, and the corner of crème colored stationary sticking out of the top was thick and glossy.  There wasn't much else to observe about it, save for the name _Kouki_ written on the front of the envelope in elegant calligraphy.

The overall sophisticated vibe of the letter only made Kagami more intrigued by it. This didn't look like your everyday love letter from a high school student. He stood in place, trying to decide what he should do. He could simply head off to warm up before practice, like the rest of his teammates had done. But maybe he should tell Furihata that he had left his love letter sitting out on the bench of the locker room. After all, where it was now, anyone could pick it up and read it.

The thought sent a sudden tremor down Kagami's spine. He reached his hand forward for a moment, before pulling it back. He knew better than to invade a teammate's privacy. But at the same time, would it really hurt just to find out the name of whoever Furi was dating? He wouldn't tell anyone. The big secret -- that Furihata was receiving love letters, and didn't seem at all surprised by it-- was already out.

Moreover, Kagami couldn't help but feel that it was a bit unfair of Furihata to hide whatever was going on. No one on Seirin had ever kept these things to themselves before. It made him feel distant from Furi, as though his teammate didn't know Kagami or trust him well enough to let him know that he was receiving letters from someone. It was that hurtful though which tempted Kagami to do something he knew he shouldn't. Besides, if Furi was hiding something, what if it meant that something was wrong? Shouldn't Kagami know? It couldn't hurt anyone just to sneak one look…

"Kagami-kun."

Kagami yelled in shock, his body jolting towards the source of noise. "K-kuroko," he stammered. He looked up into his boyfriend's eyes, meeting an intense blue stare.

Kuroko had said nothing more than Kagami's name, but from those few syllables and the look on his face, Kagami could hear the unspoken message: _I know what you're doing._

"I-I'm not, I swear," Kagami lied, throwing his hands up into the air.

"Please tell the truth, Kagami-kun," Kuroko replied.

Kagami sighed. He should be used to this by now. It wasn't possible for him to lie to Kuroko. The phantom sixth man spent far too much time analyzing other's habits, and none more so than Kagami's. It was what had allowed Kuroko to use the quasi-emperor eye to defeat Akashi, and it added to their chemistry on the court. For those things, Kagami was thankful. But it also meant that Kuroko knew every nonverbal tick that Kagami had when he lied. Perhaps that was good for their relationship as well. But it came with its moments of frustration.

"Ok, I wanted to know who it was from," Kagami admitted.

"Then perhaps you should ask Furihata-kun," Kuroko replied.

Kagami studied the look in his boyfriend's eyes. Though Kuroko was more skilled at it than he was, his shadow was not the only one who could pick up on his partner's body language.

"You know, don't you," Kagami said.

"Yes," Kuroko admitted. "I haven't read the letter. But the sender personally asked me to deliver it."

"You won't tell me, will you?" Kagami tried.

"No," Kuroko responded -- just as Kagami expected. Still, it was worth a shot.  

"Alright, well, I still need to fill up my water bottle," Kagami sighed. "I'll catch up with you in the gym."

"Kagami-kun," Kuroko said sternly, looking at his light with a firm gaze.

Kagami sighed. "I won't." There was a moment's pause, before Kuroko nodded and turned to leave for the gym.

The whole conversation made Kagami feel even worse for what he was about to do. It wasn't like him to lie, especially to Kuroko, but then again, it wasn't like him to read other people's mail either. Unfortunately, the temptation was too great; especially since Kagami was sure he could do this quickly and with no negative consequences. He was starting to worry about Furihata, honestly, unsure what good reason his teammate would have to hide something from him. And because of it, he wasn't going to be able to concentrate in practice at all if he didn't find out _something_. The easiest way to settle his mind was to quickly skim the letter, put it right back where he found it, and go to practice with a clear head.

With trembling hands, Kagami bent down, reached forward, and picked the red envelop off of the bench. He breathed in deeply through his nose, trying to calm the jittery feeling in his stomach, as he carefully pulled the stationary out of the top, and unfolded the multipage letter.

_Dearest Kouki,_

A simple enough beginning, but one that certainly suggested it was, indeed, a love letter.

_I recognize that this form of exchange is no longer customary; many would even considered it antiquated in this day in age, as it falls short of our modern standards of instantaneous access and reply. Forgive me, then, for my use of this medium if it seems unbecoming in its formality; although, it is my sincerest desire that you will recognize this letter as a gift to you, and treasure it accordingly. There is something more intimate about this means of correspondence, seeing as I am able to write to you in my own hand, thus, allowing me to give a piece of myself to you through our very day-to-day act of communication._

Kagami stopped reading for a moment to tried and sort out his jumbled thoughts. First off, Furi's admirer (a male, he could tell from the pronouns) was formal, to say the least. Second…did Kagami actually just read an entire paragraph justifying the fact that this was a handwritten letter?? He hadn't even gotten to any of the message's content and already this seemed completely over-the-top! He shuddered to think of how he would respond if Kuroko wrote him something like this. It really wasn't his style. He wondered for a moment if Furihata planned on responding to this letter with one of his own. Would his partner be bothered if Furi didn't write quite so eloquently? Or did Furihata have some hidden talent for sophisticated writing that Kagami didn't know about? How would anyone go about responding to this sort of letter anyway? Kagami tried to shove those thoughts away, and continued reading.

_I hope that you are doing well. I know that I, myself, am content, though at present I am consumed by my studies. Still, it is but a minor tribulation in comparison to the darkness I had wandered before I had rediscovered myself and before this self became enamored of you, my love, who have taught me to cherish life's most ordinary affairs._

Alright. That was enough. Any more of this and Kagami would have the urge to gag himself. Not to mention that he couldn't have read the next line of the letter even if he wanted to, given that he didn't recognize several of the kanji. It had been hard enough just to get through these first few lines, between being a returnee and the absurdity of this writer's vocabulary. If Kagami wanted to try and read through the rest of this letter (which, he thought as he flipped through the pages of stationary, was 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 pages long!), he would be sitting in the locker room all night. He decided it would be best to flip to the back page and look for a signature so that he could put a name to Furihata's strange and eloquent lover, and then he could move on from his life like this had never happened.

As Kagami was about to turn the stack of stationary over, he heard footsteps.

 _Shit! That better not be Kuroko!_ Kagami thought to himself, hurriedly stuffing the crème colored pages back into the red envelope. His breath quickened. If his boyfriend caught him looking at the letter, it would be the last time any of his teammates saw their ace alive.

The footsteps were drawing closer.

Kagami slammed the letter back onto the bench, hoping it would not raise any suspicions. He did it somewhat too forcefully, and the letter fell to the floor.

"You're still here, Kagami?"

Kagami sighed, recognizing the voice as someone other than his boyfriend. He looked up, and met the eyes of Koganei.

"Yeah," Kagami replied and pointed towards the door, "I was just about to head out to the gym."

"Oh, alright," Koga said, before he looked down and the floor, suddenly. His eyes widened, eyebrows raised.

"Is that Furihata's love letter?" he asked, pointing to the red envelope.

"Oh!" Kagami replied, trying his best to sound surprised. He made sure to look where Koga was pointing, as though he hadn't noticed it before. "I guess he left it sitting out."

"You were reading it," Koga concluded immediately. How he managed to look so innocent when speaking such incriminating words was beyond Kagami.

"I--" Kagami began, his heart picking up pace all over again. There wasn't much he could say when the evidence was this clear. Still, Kagami couldn't go down without some sort of fight. He began to speak again, his words coming out rapidly: "I only read the very beginning! I just happened to see it! Please, senpai! I didn't even see the signature!"

Koganei's lips turned up into their signature cat-like smile. He bent down, and picked the letter up off the floor. Then, leaning in close to Kagami, he whispered "I won't tell if you won't."

Kagami's eyes widened and he stepped back for a moment, not quite sure if he had heard Koga correctly. When his mind had processed that he did, indeed, hear right, he nodded.

"It's long," Kagami warned. "And very formal. Actually…I couldn't read all the kanji."

Koga nodded back. "I'll just skim it then, and skip to the end. I'll read the last bit to you, out loud."

Kagami put a finger over his lips to signal that if it was going to be read out loud it needed to be quiet. Koga nodded once more.

There was a moment of silence as Koganei began reading over the letter, before he finally said: "You're right. This writing is crazy." He started to move through the letter more quickly now, eyes glancing over pages before moving them to the back of the pile.

"What is the letter even about?" Kagami asked. "I mean, other than a declaration of love."

"Eh, this guy just kind of talks about what he's up to," Koga explained. "He spends basically a whole page just talking about his horse."

"A horse?" Kagami asked, perhaps too loudly, as Koga, this time, was the one to respond by putting a finger to his lips. Kagami nodded and continued, in a whisper, "just how loaded is this guy!?"

"He seems to be of a completely different class," Koga said. He sighed and skipped over the fourth page of the letter, finally settling his eyes on the bottom of the last page.

"Alright, here's the last paragraph," Koga began.

_Before I go, I must thank you again, Kouki, for all that you have done. I do believe our meeting was fated, for it came at a time when I had concluded that no action of mine could atone for the sins of my past. Instead, by some great blessing -- or dare I call it a "miracle"? -- fate, the gods, or whichever eternal power, bestowed me with the opportunity to ask your forgiveness and, in turn, be granted your love. Know this for certain, my darling:  the love I hold for you in my heart is absolute._

_Yours for today, for tomorrow, and eternally,_

Koganei stopped and stared at the letter, a bewildered look appearing on his face.

"Hoooollllyyyy…" he cried, but quickly shut his mouth.

"Who's it from?" Kagami barked in a hushed voice. "That's the most important part!"

Koga's mouth was still hanging wide open as he turned the letter towards Kagami and placed it in the ace's hands.

Kagami looked down at the bottom of the letter, only to be greeted by all too familiar kanji:

_Akashi Seijuurou_

"WHAT THE FU--"

Kagami stopped himself as soon as he heard the sound of footsteps once again approaching the locker room. He shot Koga a worried glace and suddenly both boys were scrambling to place the letter back in the envelope and put the envelope back on the bench.

They managed to finish the task before the newcomer entered the room and hastily ran over to the sinks to distance themselves from the scene of the crime.

"Oh, Kagami, Koga!" a voice greeted them suddenly.

Kagami turned and his breath hitched in his throat. He was suddenly _very_ glad that he and Koga had managed to put the letter back so quickly. The teammate standing at the entrance to the locker room was none other than Furihata Kouki.

"You guys should hurry up, practice is going to start soon," Furi warned them. "Coach will make you run extra laps if you're late."

"Right!" Koga replied. "I was just about to get going." He turned to Kagami and gave him a small wink, before heading out towards the door. "See you, Kagami!"

"Yeah, see ya," Kagami called back with a wave. He looked over at Furihata, who was still standing in the doorway to the locker room.

"Oh my god!" Furihata called out suddenly, in a voice that somehow managed to sound both panicked and relieved at the same time. "It's still here!" He rushed towards the red envelop sitting on the locker room bench and swiftly picked it up, clutching it to his chest.

"You ok?" Kagami asked.

Furi nodded. "Sorry," he sighed. "I just left something important out here. I forgot to put it back in my locker."

Kagami nodded in understanding, and for a moment he didn't speak. Part of him was tempted to act like nothing had just happened, and continue on to practice like Koga had done a moment earlier. He knew the secret now, that Furihata Kouki was dating Akashi Seijuurou, captain of Rakuzan High and former captain of the Generation of Miracles. That should have satisfied his curiosity. But, oddly enough, Kagami didn't feel satisfied at all.

He looked Furihata in the eye, and though neither of them said a word, they continued to look at each other, without moving, somehow sensing that there were unspoken words between then.

"Hey, Furi…" Kagami broke the silence, "do you mind if I ask you a question?"

"Sure, Kagami," Furihata smiled. "What's up?"

"That letter you're holding -- is it a love letter?" Kagami asked.

Furihata clutched the letter tighter as a blush appeared on his cheeks.

"Yes," he responded honestly.

"Who is it from?" Kagami asked.

"You wouldn't believe me," Furihata responded shyly.

"Is it someone you've been seeing for a while?" Kagami continued his interrogation.

"Yes."

"Why didn't you tell any of us?"

Kagami studied Furihata's movements, noticing the way that the boy's legs were shaking and his wide eyes were turned towards the ground, while his fingers played absentmindedly with the red envelope in his hand.

"I'm sorry, Furi," Kagami apologized, walking over to his teammate. "It's just, I want you to know that you can trust us."

"I…I know…it's…it's just…" Furihata stammered.

"Hyuuga told us all that he wants to confess to Riko," Kagami continued over Furihata's nervous rambling. "Even though he's still too afraid to ask her, he trusted us. Or how about Mitobe and Koga? They were the first same-sex couple on our team; they didn't know how we'd all react."

"I…guess…"

"So why don't you trust us enough to tell us that you've been seeing someone?" Kagami asked bluntly.

"Of course I trust you guys!" Furihata protested. "It's just…it's just that none of you will understand!"

"Understand what?"

Furihata inhaled deeply, his legs still shaking. "Ok, fine!" He said while looking Kagami in the eye and trying to stand as straight and tall as he possibly could. "I'll tell you."

He paused for a moment to move his eyes from side-to-side, scanning for anyone else who might be in the locker room, before returning to a determined gaze focused on Kagami.

Kagami took a deep breath of his own, trying to mentally prepare himself to sound shocked when he heard Akashi's name. He wasn't a very good actor, but there had to be something he could say to sound surprised.

"I'm dating Akashi Seijuurou," Furihata declared.

"That explains why your name was written in such nice handwriting," was all that Kagami could think of. Furihata's expression didn't change, so Kagami assumed it was a good enough response.

"Is it…" Furihata began to ask slowly, "…is it…weird?"

"Do you like him?" Kagami responded to the question with a question of his own.

"Of course I do!" Furihata cried, as though the question was ridiculous.

"Then why is it weird?" Kagami asked.

Furihata's eyes widened and his legs stopped shaking. He stood there for a moment with this expression of surprise, before a smile appeared on his face.

"I do wonder how you guys met and who confessed and all of that," Kagami continued, "but that's something we'll save for later. It's something you should tell the whole team."

Furihata nodded. "Thanks, Kagami."

"For what?" Kagami asked.

"For not judging me," Furihata responded quietly.

"Furi," Kagami sighed, "that's what friends are for. That's what teammates are for. We are Seirin because we trust each other. We fight for each other. And, yes, we tell each other about our crushes too."

"I'm sorry," Furihata apologized, bowing his head slightly. "I shouldn't have been so scared. You must have thought that I don't trust you at all."

"Honestly, I was more worried about you," Kagami admitted. "If there was something that worried you so much you couldn't tell any of us, I thought that maybe something was wrong."

"No, nothing's wrong," Furihata shook his head. "Sei -- I mean Akashi -- is very kind. Kuroko knows of our relationship, and he approves. I just thought you all might not believe me, because…you know…" he trailed off and made a scissors motion with his fingers.

Kagami laughed. "I think we've all realized, thanks to Kuroko, that there's more to him than that."

Furihata's smile widened.

"Say, Furi, I have one question, though."

"Yes?"

"How exactly does one respond to a letter that is so long and eloquent and formal?" Kagami asked.

Furihata's eyes narrowed in confusion for a moment, before widening in realization.

"Oh my god, you read it!"

"N--no, I was just assuming, you know, since it's Akashi…"

"YOU READ IT! Kagami-kun! You read my letter!"

Kagami scowled. "No, actually I couldn't read most of it because I didn't know the kanji…"

Before Kagami could finish, Furihata was dashing towards the exit to the locker room, yelling: "Coach! Coach, you need to make Kagami run laps! He just read my love letter from Akashi without my permission!"

"I'll kill you, Furihata!" Kagami yelled, sprinting after him.

That is how Kagami ended up being dragged back to his apartment by Kuroko, winded from extra training.

That is how Furihata accidentally confessed to the entire team about his relationship with Akashi.

 And that is why there are no more secrets among the members of the Seirin Basketball Club.

 

 

 


End file.
